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5IST Congress,) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Mis. Doc. 

1st Session. / \ No. 263. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



DAVID WILDER 

(A REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW YORK), 



DELIVEREn IN THE 



House of representatives and in the Senate, 



FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION. 



PUBLISHED BV ORDER OF CONGRESS. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1890. 






Resoli'ed by ^/«' Sevate and House of Representatives of the United 
States (if America in Congress assembled, Tliat tliere be printed of the 
eulogies delivered in Congress upon the late David Wilbek. a Representa- 
tive in the Fifty-first Congress from the State of New York, teji thousand 
copies, of which two thousand five hundred copies shall he for the use of 
the Senate and seven thousand five hundred for the use of the House of 
Representatives; and the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, 
directed to have printed a portrait of the said David Wilber. to accom- 
pany said eulogies, and for the puiq^ose of engraving and printing said 
portrait the sum of five hundred dollars, or so much theivof as may be 
ne;essary. is hereljy appropriated out of any moneys in the Treasury not 
otherwise ap|ir<)i»riate<l. That of the quota to the House of Representa- 
tives the Public Printer sliall set apart fifty C(jpies. which he shall have 
bound in full morocco, with gilt edges, the same to be delivered when 
completed to the widow of the deceased. 
Approved, September 19, 1890. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 



April 1, 1800. 

Mr. Sherman. Mr. Speaker, it becomes my sad duty to 
announce the demise of Hon, David Wilber, of New York. 
The lamp of his life, which for months has been failini>:. to- 
day went out. The time is not here to speak his eulo,i<y. 
At some future time I shall ask the House to turn aside from 
its business to pay fitting tribute to his memory. For the 
present I offer the resolutions which I send to the Clerk's 
desk. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That the House has learned with profound regret of the 
death of Hon. David Wilbeu, a Representative fi-oni the State of New- 
York. 

Resolved bi/ tJie House of Representatives (the Senate eo7}curriiig), That 
a special committee of seven members of tiie House of Representatives 
and tliree members of the Senate be ai^pointed to take order for attending^ 
his funeral at his residence in the State of New York : and the necessary 
expenses attending the execution of this order siiall be payable out of 
first funds in the contingent fund of the House available therefor. 

That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House be authorized and directed to 
take such steps as may be necessary for properly carrying out the pro- 
visions of this resolution. 

Resolved. That the Clerk communicate tlie foregoing resolutions to tlie 
Senate. 

Resolved, Tliat as a furtlier mark of respect to the memory of the de- 
ceased the House do now adjourn. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 



4 Address of Mr. Shir»ian^ of Neiv York, on the 

:Mav -n, 1S90. 
Mr. Sherman. Viv. Speaker, I offer the resolutions I send 
to the Clerk's desk. 

The Clerk re;ul as follows: 

Resolved, That the busiiu'.ss uf the House be now .suspemled that oppor- 
tunity be aff()rde<I members to pay proper tribute to the memory of 
Hon. David Wilber. late a Representative from the State of New York. 

Resolved, That in tlie death of David Wilber the country has lost the 
services of a safe legislator and faitliful pulilic servant. 

Resolved, Tliat as a further mark of respect to his memory the House 
ehall at tlie conclusion of these ceremonies adjourn. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 



ADDRESS OF MR. SHERMAN, OF NEW YORK. 

Mr. Speaker : By death the living are taught a lesson; 
of death they know nothing, can learn nothing ; in it the 
heart responds not to the living ; the muscles have lost 
their power ; the will is gone. Its awful mystery falls short 
of grandeur only hy reason of the stinging ])ain, which 
blunts all sensibilities save that of sorrow. Whether it 
conies with^he startling vividness of the lightning or with 
the certain premonitory warning of the low thunder, it is 
alike incomprehensible. The now and tlu' then are so near, 
the invisible line which marks the division of the real and 
the hallowed, sanctified unreal is so narrow that a single 
step unravels thi' mystery. But that step taken is never 
retraced. 

The revelation that comes thereby sheds no light this side 
the gloaming. The lesson startles, it warns us of, but does 
not reveal the hereafter. Rightly viewecl it strengthens 
our belief in Divinity aii<l molds our lives to share the 
h;i]i]iiiiess thus to be found. The jtoi'tal we vi\\\ death is 
.sooner or later opened for us all. That one bare fact 



Life and CJiaractcr of David IVilber. 5 

palsies argument. Upon it tlie Christian and tlie Pagan can 
find no ground of difference. Well does that man live who 
is ready to enter therein when it opens for him, and render 
up the account of his stewardship to his Maker. 

So live, tliat, sinking in thy last long sleep, 

Calm thou mayst smile, while all around thee weep. 

To-day we pay our last tribute of honor, of respect, of 
affection, for one who did so live. 

On April 1, after a long and well-spent life, the immortal 
of David Wilber passed to the higher existence. In his 
seventieth year, in the State of his nativity, almost in sight 
of the place of his birth, he died ; and there, on a beautiful 
knoll overlooking the valley in which were passed all the 
active days of his life, his body sleeps — 

The sleep that knows not breaking. 

Mr. Speaker, David Wilber was a remarkable man. He 
was a strong, forceful character. From boyhood he made 
his own way in the world. An honest heart and a large 
brain he inherited from his Quaker parents. The advan- 
tages of an academic education it was not his fortune to 
receive. Yet his brain had remarkable absorbent and re- 
tentive power. Nothing of moment ever escaped his atten- 
tion, and once noted it held place in his mind ever af terwai^. 
Habits of industry and frugality were learned in his youtli 
to be followed through life. 

With these habits and the little money he had saved from 
the earnings of his hands for his capital, he started in the 
business world fifty years ago, in Otsego County. Step by 
step he advanced. His foot never slipped backward because 
he never allowed it to. His forward course in the road of 
prosperity was as steady and as strong as the current of a 
mighty river. This was not so by chance. It was because 



<j . Iddress of Mr. Sherman^ of N civ Yo7'k, on the 

his will [iMwer was exliaustless, his energy untiring. His 
vocabulary knew no such word as ''fail.** It was because 
he had more of conservatism than of daring. It was be- 
cause — 

He knows the compass, sail, and oar, 

Or never launches from the shore ; 
Before lie builds computes the cost, 
And in no proud pursuit is lost. 

Before entering upon any undertaking he viewed it from 
every standing point; lie scanned every detail; he thought 
out a plan of action. That plan was made with far-sight 
shrew^dness. It was executed with indu.stry and per.sever- 
ance. 

He coukl not be said to have kept pace with the progress 
of the time, for he was its leader. He marked the pace of 
industrial growth and business advancement for the entire 
community in which he lived. He was identified with every 
enterprise which had in view the advancement of his town, 
his county, or his locality. 

Not a few of them had their inception in his l)rain. Of 
his time, his means, and his experience he was a liberal con- 
tributor to the business life of the community. His 
sh(julder at the wheel was a force so well known in the 
later years of his life that even the chronic doubter known 
in every community made way for the advance of progress. 
His personal affairs he managed with wonderful sagacity. 
The capacity of his mind was even greater than the require- 
ments of his extensive and varied interests. Neither his 
hands nor his mind were ever idle. He was both progressive 
and aggressive. He reaped the fruits of untiring energy 
and unquestioned honesty. His business life was successful 
to an extent even greater than that of most successful men. 

In the county where he tilled the S(>il lor others for a 
meager pittance lifty years before, at his death he owned 



Life and Character of Dai id U'Ubcr. 7 

4,000 acres of well-cultivatrd land. And yet this was hut a 
portion of the accumulations of his life. This was not the 
result either of selfishness or greed. He was frugal, but not 
parsimonious; generous, but not wasteful. The accumula- 
tion of wealth aifected not his heart. To all David Wilber, 
the capitalist, was the same kind, approachable, unostenta- 
tious David Wilber of earlier days. He was ever ready to 
give to others the lesson he had learned by experience. 
With so gracious a mien did he carry his wealth others did 
not covet his success, but rejoiced with him because of it. 
He made for himself a reputation in the business world for 
pluck, perseverance, and integrity which will not soon be 

forgotten. 

Politically he was a potential factor for a quarter of a cen- 
tury. He was a molder of public opinion. For many years 
he was the political leader of his county. He assumed not 
to dictate, but by common consent his judgment was always 
consulted and very generally followed. His political con- 
victions were strong. He was not swayed by every changing 
breeze. His action was guided by principle, not by preju- 
dice. Here as elsewhere was shown his iron will and deter- 
mination. In 1858, '59, '62, -'65, and '66 he represented the 
town of Milford, where he then resided, in the board of 
supervisors of Otsego County. This was a Democratic 
town; always so except when David Wilber was a candi- 
date. 

Ditfering in party opinion and affiliation from the ac- 
knowledged majority of the town, he never knew defeat at 
the polls. Not only his energy and force were shown by 
these elections, but the esteem in which he was held by 
neighbors, regardless of party. His rare good sense, his 
kindly manner, and his wonderful tact in managing men 
made him during these years the principal factor in local 



8 Address of Mr. S/icniian^ of Xciv York, on the 

legislation. It does not need the l)roader field of State or 
naticjnal legislatures for a strong mind to make itself known 
and felt, nor for a leading spirit, by its natural force, to 
assert itself. 

David Wilder from 1850 to ISGo showed the truth of 
this statement. Men possessed of the positive qualities of 
Mr. WiLBER do not often escape the public view. He was 
no exception to the rule. In 1872 he was elected to the 
Forty-third Congress, and again, in 1878, to the Forty- sixth 
Congress. The reapportionment of the Congressional dis- 
tricts of the State placed Mr. Wilber in a Democratic 
district just prior to the election of the Forty-ninth Con- 
gress, and (luring that Congress the district was represented 
by a Democrat, an able, upright man. Against his will. ]klr. 
WiLBER yielded to the urgent rec^uest of others and became 
a candidate for election to the Fiftieth Congress. He con- 
ducted this campaign with limitless energy. His election by 
a liaudsome majority followed a campaign noted for its thor- 
oughness and its aggressiveness. 

Frequent and severe illness took him often from his seat 
on this floor, and yet, he kept a close watch upon legislation. 
]\Ir. Wilber often expressed a determination to retire from 
Congress at the close of that term. But the demands were 
so urgent for him to become his party's standard-bearer in 
the Presidential campaign of 1888. that finally, overper- 
suaded, he totjk up the task of another campaign. He car- 
ried it through with a measure of success beyond the most 
sanguine expectations. 

In the Fifty-first Congress he never took his seat. He 
was taken seriously ill on October 30 last, and from that 
sickness he never recovered. 

By special order of the House he. with his distinguished 
colleai^nie from Pennsylvania, with whom he was paired, took 



Life atid Oiaracdr of Daz'id Jll'/bcr. 9 

his oath of office at his home. The pair he so much hoped 
to end by his presence here God dissolved. 

In Congress he never took part in debate. He was not a 
conspicuous figure upon the floor. It was in committee that 
his constructive genius found play. He represented his con- 
stituency faithfully and well. His value as a member came 
not that he was an orator, or possessed wonderfully quick 
perception, but because of his plodding industry, his con- 
stant watchfulness, and his excellent good judgment. 

As in business so was he here, genial, approachable, 
kindly. He did not share the common belief that here each 
must make his pathway forward over the prostrate forms of 
his colleagues. Were it necessary to crowd some other 
back that he might push forward he was content to remain 
behind. He was frequently a delegate in State conventions 
and was also a delegate to the national conventions of 1880 
and 1888. His participation in public affairs covered a 
period longer than the life of many of his colleagues on 
this floor. 

His record is that of an honorable man who never shirked 
a dut}^, or diverged from the path where conscience led. 

Of Mr. Wilber's domestic life I will speak but a single 
word. 

He was married in 1 845, and his wife and two sons sur- 
vive him. In the family circle Mr. Wilber was always 
cheerful, considerate, and loving. The cares of his life he 
carried alone, its happiness he shared with his family. The 
light his sunny disposition shed about his home will never 
wholly fade. What was bright and tender and true of him 
will be uppermost in the mind of the bereaved wife, soften- 
ing her sorrow until they shall meet again. 

Mr. Wilber was a firm supporter of the church and the 
school. He was a director in more than one educational 



10 Address of Mr. McCormick, of Pcmisylrania, on the 

institution. His Christianity was not of the sectarian type; 
he had an affection for all men. He did good for the love 
of it. To him no single creed could point the road to 
Heaven. Desirous was he to help any good work under 
the auspices of whatever denomination it was instituted. 
No deserving charity went empty-handed from his .loor. 
To do for others was to him a pleasure. Injustice he could 
not tolerate. Sham in every form he scorned. In his 
friendship he was intensely strong and true as steel. 
Strangely, perhaps, his dislikes were Jiot as strong as his 
likes. He was slow to anger, plenteous in mercy. He was 
quick to see an injustice and sensitive to a personal affront, 
l)ut lie (juickly forgave and forgot. He was well balanced; 
his l)ody. his mind. Lis heart kept even pace with each 
other. AVhat ho ap[)eared to be he was— a large-hearted, 
broad-minded, plain-spoken, kindly man. 



ADDRESS OF Mr, Mccormick, of Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Speaker: My first acquaintance with David Wilber 
was in the beginning of the Fiftieth Congress. He was 
my colleague in committee, and .iltlioUgh at that time suf- 
fering to some extent from disease, he took an active part 
in all the work of the committee. I was impressed with his 
strong good sense and his outspoken convictions. He was 
a type of manhood not uncommon in this country of great 
opportunities. He was honest, industrious, and self-relinnt, 
and these qualities had made liijn a success in life. Born to 
poverty, self-educated, and without any of the advantages 
that wealtli and social i)osition ^ive to those who possess 
them, he fought the l)attleof life single-handed, and acquired 
for himself Ixjth wealth and position. Four times he was 



FJfc ami Characdr of David JJ'ilber. 11 

elected to Congress by a district doubtful witli any other 
candidate; once he represented his party in its national con- 
vention, and for more than thirty years he had held posi- 
tions of trust and responsibility. Everywhere and at all 
times he performed his duty with fidelity, and he leaves to 
his family an honored name. 

His life is another example of what may be accomplished 
by honest, energetic, well-directed effort. From a poor boy 
he came to be a wealthy and honored citizen, loved and re- 
spected by all who knew him. Those who knew him best 
and longest trusted him ini])li('itly, and their confidence 
was never betrayed. 

He died amongst the people with whom he had spent his 
life, his birth-place being in one of the counties comprising 
the district he so faithfully represented in Congress. 

Mr. WiLBER was a business man of rare ability, and accus- 
tomed as he was to business methods, the long debates in 
Congress and the delays in legislation were exceedingly dis- 
tasteful to him. In the first session of the Forty-sixth Con- 
gress, on May 15, 1879, he made a brief speech, in which he 
used this language: 

I have met here day after day and listened to wild theories upon dif- 
ferent subjects, and in my judgment as a business man this Congress lias 
not done as much legislation that Avill benefit the country since the 18th 
day of March as any ten good business men would do in one half day. 

My relations with Mr. Wilber were only such as came 
from committee association, and of his good works and his 
virtues as a citizen I will therefore leave others to speak 
who knew him well. I have given only my impressions of 
the man acquired during my very brief official acquaint- 
ance with him. This was sufficient, however, to make me 
regret his loss to his family, to the community in which he 
lived, and to the country he served so honorably and well. 



12 Address of Mr. McRac\ of Arkansas^ on the 



Address of Mr. McRae, of Arkansas. 

Mr. Speaker : Death has stricken another name from the 
roll of the membership of tliis House. David Wilber, the 
late Representative from the Twenty-fourth New York dis- 
trict, has fallen into the "sleep that no pain shall wake," 
and the public business is now suspended, that his friends 
may have an opportunity to pay proper respect to his 
memory and to study his virtues. 

In the oliservance of this long-established ceremonial we 
meet as members of a common family. At the grave it has 
been said that "■ envy holds her breath, partisan bitterness is 
hushed for a moment, and even silence, that rare visitant 
here, extends her trauquilizing wings for a little while over 
us." It is amid such surroundings that the weakness of the 
individual, the necessity for a stronger fraternity of man, 
and the power and beauty of God are forcibly impressed 
upon us. Such occasions, though sad, are beneficial to the 
living, in that they serve to open the way for that great 
truth that man's duties reach out beyond the lines that in- 
close party or sect and touch his fellows wherever they may 
be found. By this act we honor the lamented dead, and at 
the same time should be reminded of our own mortality and 
how fleeting are the honors of this world. 

Naturally in the presence of death our reflections turn to 
the grandeur of that ambition which aspires beyond the 
affairs of life, and so we think of our friend to-day. That 
there is another and better life to which death is but 
the entrance and that the soul is immortal I do not in the 
least doubt, nor do I doubt that through Divine grace it is 
the jn-ivilege of all who will to t'iij..y tliat life throughout 



Life and Character of David Wilber. 13 

eternity. The innate cravings for tlie infinite, the longings 
of its every emotion, its growth and holy aspirations all de- 
clare there is snch a life beyond the grave. " Intelligence 
speaks and says that the light of reason shall not go out in 
the grave. Revelation jDoints out man's escape from the 
shadow of death; the sun of rigliteousiiess with effulgent 
beams lights up the charnel house. " "T is only a resting 
place. Our departed friend had been baptized into the faith 
of the great Gallilean and died a believer in the Christian 
religion, and so we feel assured that lie shall awake to 
immortality beyond the confines of the tomb. Mr. Wilber 
was more than thirty years my senior, but to some extent I 
enjoyed his confidence and friendship during the time I 
knew him. 

What I knew of him I learned from seeing him on this 
floor and by service with him in the committee-room during 
the Fiftieth Congress. Others who knew him at home and 
who are more familiar with his life have \\\ a befitting man- 
ner spoken of his achievements in private life and of his 
successful public career, as well as of those qualities of liead 
and heart which endeared him to the people who knew and 
honored him. While from my knowledge of him I would 
not feel warranted in naming him as one of those great 
characters who have marked the periods in our country's 
political history, I can truthfully say that he possessed many 
qualities which have commended themselves to the good of 
all ages, and without which there is no true greatness. 

While he was peculiarly a man of affairs and business, he 
loved his country and her institutions and was proud of 
her growth and prosperitJ^ He was honest in all matters, 
public and private: just to both friend and foe. and pure in 
purpose and morals. His public life was one of strict in- 
tegrity, and his private character was without stain. His 



14 Address of Mr. McRac^ of Arkansas., o>i the 

benevolent nature made him the friend of all mankind, and 
he was generous in his helpfulness to all the needy and de- 
serving. Sincere and earnest, he intended always to do 
right and to render to every one his dues. He was faith- 
ful to his convictions, true to his friends, devoted to his 
family, and always acted under a sense of duty. A Ger- 
man writer has said that "there are two things supremely 
beautiful in this world, the starry sky above our heads and 
the sense of duty in our hearts." This sense of duty ap- 
peared to be always present with our friend. Not that he 
was always right, for some of us must say, to be true to our 
own convictions, that he was often wrong on questions of 
governmental policy, and yet it does not change the argu- 
ment that he so believed. 

We shall miss him upon this floor : the people of his dis- 
trict will miss him; his family will miss him more than all; 
but he has left us a legacy of good examples, his people at 
home the record of a faithful and honorable service as their 
Rejjresentative, and his family a good name, and ample for- 
tune honestly acquired. His many deeds of charity and 
kindness will be long remembered by his neighbors and 
friends. To the grief-striclccn widow and sons we can only 
commend the language of inspiration: "Xow he is dead, 
wherefore should I fast ? can I bring him back again ? I 
shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.'' As we lay 
this tribute on the grave of our friend ami l)i(l him adieu we 
do so in the full contifleiice that he has gone — 

Out of tiK' sliadows of sadness, 
Into tlie sunshine of gladness, 

Into till" light of the blest : 
Out of a land very dreary. 
Out of the world very weary. 

Into the rapture of rest. 



Life and Charac/ir of David IVilber. 15 

Out of to-days sin and soiTOW, 
Into a blissful to-morvow, 

Into a day without gloom ; 
Out of a land filled with sighing, 
Land of the deal and the dying, 

Into a land without tomb. 



Address of Mr. Russell, of Connecticut. 

Mr. Speaker : My acquaintance with Hon, David Wil- 
BER was formed during the Fiftieth Congress through asso- 
ciation on tlie Committee on Railways and Canals. He was 
among the oldest in years in that association and I among 
the youngest. Between us was the half portion of that 
period which is the allotted age of man. But there was a 
separation in age only. In acquaintance the difference in 
our years proved a strong span and a tender tie, by which I 
came to know of our dead brother's kind heart and generous 
humanity. 

In what society in life are found so great jealousy of 
success and so little sympathy for failure as here in our 
Congressional association ? But David Wilber's nature 
spurned that jealousy and cultivated that symj^athy. His 
was an exceptional disposition, unselfish, kind, helpful, con- 
siderate. It is a full appreciation of that noble disposition 
which prompts from me to-day a young man's tribute to an 
elder's guidance, support, and encouragement. He, of full- 
ness in experience and of knowledge in affairs, was ever 
ready to impart that experience and that knowledge ; not to 
parade it as a patent assigned to his own use and bequest, 
but to infuse it, that his fellows might use and profit. A 
character which shuts not up its good qualities for selfish 
purposes and personal aggrandizement is beautiful and 



16 Address of Mr. Ritsse//^ of Coiiuccticiil^ on tJic 

chivalric aiiywlicre. It is notable and beneficent in Con- 
gress. 

During tlie sessions of the last Congress Mr. Wilber's 
health was failing. His attendance on his duties here was 
a great physical effort. He was oftener in the coniniittee- 
room and at home in his hotel to his friends than on this floor. 
It was in those places that we came to know him and to love 
him. In revered memory we recall him comfortably resting 
in easy chair or on lounge and interestingly talking on ques- 
tions of })ublic import in Congress and in the nation. De- 
cided in opinion, grounded in his political faith, reasoning 
his views, his Congressional work was that of suggestion 
and encouragement to those whose physical strength per- 
mitted vigorous action on the measures in which he believed. 
His counsel was given so as to conceal even the semblance 
of arrogance or aged wisdom. It was as the teaching of an 
instructor who has first gained the affection of the i)ui)il 
and then bestows rather than dictates knowledge. The 
cheerful, helpful, ingenuous association which our friend 
gave to his fellows lives in my memory as his eminent 
characteristic. I thank him for that association, which was 
forl)idding to none, inviting to all, honest and honorable 
always. 

Mr. Speaker, 1 can not refer in detail to the business and 
political life of Mr. Wilber. His colleagues from New York 
State will do that. They, more a[»proi)i'iar('ly than myself, 
can makereference to those qualities of heart and head wliich 
in the privacy of the family circle and in the intimacy of 
close relationship made him the good and true man. I have 
spoken of his fellowship here, which was free and unpieten- 
tious, ami carried with it cheer and comfort and benefit to us 
who came within its influence. But I must not overlook 
a characteristic which im})ressed itself upon all who came 



Life and Charactcy of David JVilbe?: 17 

into liis association. It was a ])urp()so iiidoinitahle, though 
not belligerent; it was a pursuit indefatigable, though not 
obnoxious. 

Whatever he undertook was pursued with the purpose 
of accomplishment. His whole life was energy, active and 
not bombastic. His force was success achieved and not 
merely contemplated. The unfailing purpose and the un- 
tiring pursuit which raised him to prominence and affluence 
in business carried him through the embarrassments and 
contentions of political life. His intimate political associates 
must rank him as a propelling power, if not a showy j^en- 
nant, attached to the political craft of the great Empire 
State. 

Mr. Speaker, whatever may bo the great hereafter, we 
who loved the fellowship of David Wilber here and we 
who recall his honest purposes and his honorable pursuits 
in life, would renew association with him in that hereafter, 
and in holy jjurpose and eternal pursuit be with him again. 



Address of Mr, Tracey, of New York. 

Mr. Speaker: Few persons appreciate the variety of 
emotions a member of this House is subject to in the jier- 
formance of his duties. There is always before him the 
knowledge that he must never deviate from the line marked 
out by his oath to support the Constitution, and this when 
public questions are being considered occasionally brings to 
him anxiety of mind when deciding whether he should sup- 
port or approve a proposition. At times he is annoyed and 
irritated by the difficulty of obtaining what he deems proper 
consideration from committees to which his measures have 
been referred, while at other times he is gladdened by suc- 
H. Mis. 203 2 



18 Address of Mr. Traoy^ o/Wew York, on the 

cess and made grateful to those colleagues who ha\e aided 
him in accomplisliing results to effect whicli he has worked 
so earnestly; and, Mr. Speaker, while he is thus satisfying 
some delicate question of conscience, or is being moved by 
feelings of anger, joy, or gratitude, there comes a day wJieii 
another emotion is aroused, and he is startled by the an- 
nouncement that death has entered the ranks and removed 
one of his colaborers, and he is grieved at the loss of a com- 
rade and filled with sympathy for ihe afflicted family of his 
friend. 

Alas, such a shock as this has not been an infrequent 
occurrence of late. Only a little more than half the Fifty- 
first Congress has passed, and wo who remain have to mourn 
the loss of nine of our colleagues. Burnes, Townshend, 
Nutting, Gay, Laird, Cox, Kelley, Wilber, and Randall had 
many devoted friends, and were men of exceptional strength 
in tlieir respective districts. Of them all, however, the 
gentleman in whose memory eulogies are being i)ronounced 
to-day was the only one representing a constituency the 
normal majority of which was opposed to the party of its 
member of Congress. 

The phenomenal success of Mr. Wilber as a candidate 
before the people must have been a great gratification to 
him. and his surviving relatives and friends may well take 
l)ride in the record of his political life. 

During the many years lie lived in the county of Otsego 
lie may Ije said to have worked constantly, but while all this 
time he was accumulating wealth, the people realized that 
their prosperity was also being added to through his efforts; 
and his advice was sought by those interested in public im- 
provements and by individuals seeking counsel to guide 
them in their private enterprises. 

Whenever in a rural community we find a man, long a 



Life and Character of David IVilber. 19 

resident there, who is selected by common consent to lead in 
all movements for the general welfare, we may safely con- 
clude that he has been a true and unselfish friend to his 
neighbors. While attending Mr. Wilber's funeral several 
weeks ago I was greatly impressed by the evidences of affec- 
tion and respect with which our late colleague was regarded 
by his constituents. There appeared to be a total suspension 
of business that day in the active village of Oneonta and a 
large influx of visitors who came as mourners from different 
parts of the district. The tributes paid to his memory by 
the several clergymen xaresent at the services gave evidence 
of Mr. Wilber's unbounded charity and of his great nobility 
and purity of character, both in public and private life. 

The procession which formed at the close of the church 
ceremonies included in the line various organizations named 
in honor of Mr. Wilber, and composed of men of si)lendid 
physique, who bore on their intelligent countenances expres- 
sions of sincere grief. 

As our colleague was laid at rest on the hillside overlook- 
ing the beautiful valley of the Susquehanna, one could but 
feel that for many years to come his tomb will be pointed 
out to the traveler as inclosing the remains of one who liad 
been a friend of the people, working for them and with 
them at home, and modestly but firmly advancing and guard- 
ing their interests in the Congress of the United States. 



ADDRESS OF MR, FARQUHAR, OF NEW YORK. 

Mr. Speaker: Long, long years ago. in the land in which I 
was born, there was a custom that when they laid in the earth 
their dead chiefs, or the patriarchs of their families, mourn- 
ers came to mark the resting spot of the revered dead with 



20 Address of Mr. Farqiihar, of Nciu York, on the 

stones from the brook and the mountain-side, until tliere 
was erected over the bleak places and in the rich valleys of 
that northern land the memorial cairn, which stands to-day 
the memento of the love permeating the old tribal condition 
of the Celtic race. I come to-day, as a matter of duty, as a 
matter of kindness, as a matter of the most imperative 
demand of my own heart, to add my tribute to the memorial 
cairn of David Wilber. 

I know, Mr. Speaker, it is quite customary on occasions 
like this — for I have sat many years in this House — to hear 
orations with tine-turned periods, furbished and refurbished 
for a funeral occasion, full of eulogy, full of expressions 
that I may even say are overdone for the individuals, but 
still that come from hearts that gush with feeling for those 
whom they would eulogize. I could not. if I would, stand 
on this floor to-day with any finished oration to the memory 
of David Wilber. 

Ah, his was a character that needs no finely-turned sen- 
tences. A pioneer of that part of western Xew York which 
wlien he was born was almost a wilderness; a great, rugged, 
struggling, fighting, pushing character, that made his way 
in the world against all obstacles: a man whose cardinal 
l>i-iiiciple was honesty, and after that generosity. No fine 
words can carry back to David Wilber's home a single 
expression of kindly esteem that the good honest people of 
western New York will not recognize as truth and justice 
when spoken in his memory. 

Why do we regret to lose such men here? If it wei-e pos- 
sil)le it would be my wish that this Congress and all succeed- 
ing Congresses might have within their halls many David 
WiLBERs. He was a man whose opinions were formed in 
the practical school of life, so that he could instantly detect 
right from wrong, evil from good, falselKjod from the bright 



Life and Character of David Wilber. 21 

diamond of truth. David Wilber fought the battle of life 
honestly, cast his freeman's vote honestly, acted honestly, 
and all his advice to kin or neighbor was honest. Such 
men, may I say, are somewhat rare in Congress, for there is 
often such dissembling in our political votes and wordy con- 
tests here that I say the rugged, honest line of life of David 
Wilber is the one that all of us ought to emulate and strive 
to matcli. 

David Wilber assumed and accepted political service not 
for its honors. He was called into political life by what 
you might call neighborhood desires and claims. He was 
asked to represent the sentiments of his district, the busi- 
ness of his district, the claims of his district, as an integral 
part of a national body; and in assuming these duties he 
came to Congress repeatedly with the same simple-hearted- 
ness, the same honesty of purpose, to serve not alone his 
neighbors and his people, but to serve, in his share, the 
whole United States of America. 

National in all his opinions, generous to all those who 
neither believed in his political ideas nor even in his relig- 
ious tenets, David Wilber sought to ingraft upon all leg- 
islation God's honest truth, and nothing else. Why should 
he not have been carried to his last resting-place in New 
York with the tears and bewailments of hundreds of his 
neighbors, for he had served them all faithfully? Ah, 
that reputation which conies to a man on this floor may 
often be well earned, yet in the lapse of a few years it proves 
to be transient, it i)asses away, till not even one line is left; 
whereas such a life as David Wilber's lives as an example 
to the young as well as a consolation to the old of the sec- 
tion where he was so well beloved. 

I thank God and I thank the people of the State of New 
York that he was sent from that old Otsego district repeat- 



22 Address of Mr. Farquhar^ of New York. 

ecUy; that they g:a^e us an exami^le of a pu])lic man of ru«^- 
^ed lionesty. a man of practical jjolitical affairs, as well as 
a generous and noble citizen. None in that State, none here, 
can add one word to the eulogy which his own character and 
life can pass upon David Wilber. To his people, to his 
neighbors, to his l)eloved family, his character will endure 
long years after all memory of his political honors has 
passed away. 

The Speaker pro ienipore. The question is upon the adop- 
tion of the resolutions offered by the gentleman from New 
York. 

The resolutions were unanimously adopted; and in ac- 
cordance therewith the House adjourned. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE. 



June 19, 1890. 

The Vice-President. The Chair lays before the Senate 
resolutions from the House of Representatives, which will 
be read. 

The Chief Clerk read as follows : 

In the House of Representatives, May 24, 1890. 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended, tliat oppor- 
tunity be afforded members to pay proper tribute to the memory of Hon. 
David Wilber, late a Representative from the State of New York. 

Resolved, That in the death of David Wilber the country has lost the 
services of a safe legislator and faithful public servant. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to liis memory the House 
shall at the conclusion of these ceremonies adjourn. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 



Address of Mr. Evarts, of New York. 

Mr. President : David Wilber lived to the age of sev- 
enty years, and died very near the spot in which he was 
born, in the Otsego district of the State of New York. Yet 
probably, though his home was the same, no greater change 
CDuld be found in a man's lifetime tlian that which trans- 
])ired from the surroundings in which he was born to the 
surroundings in which he died. 

2-6 



24 Address of Air. Evarts^ of Nezv York^ on the 

Seventy years ago, Mr. President, calls up to mind a con- 
dition of life, both in nature and society, at the spot at which 
David Wilbek was born, that was almost frontier life in a 
certain sense, and in some very important particulars much 
more of a frontier life than our present system of sending 
populations Xo occupy new lands. The riiilroads. the tele- 
graphs, have changed wholly the circumstances of new set- 
tlements which attended far beyond the time of Mr. Wil- 
ber's birth the situation in which he was born. 

]Mr. AViLBEK was born entirely poor, but from parents of 
sterling and upright character and conduct in life. He 
followed the path of life of one who labors in the pursuit of 
wealth, or prosperity at least. I believe that he met no 
misfortunes in his whole career in which he started in life 
with nothing but the earnings of his hands. 

His thrift, his prudence, his savings, his faculties, his high 
moral character, and his large and increasing authority among 
his fellow-men brought him to be possessed of a great fortune, 
and to be at all times an animating member of all interests 
surrounding him in his town, in his county, in his section of 
the State, in his party, and, so far as his private and public 
life were connected M'ith it, the welfare of the country. 

Without education, I believe even academic, there has been 
no stage in his progress in which he did not show those natural 
faculties and those natural traits which made him adequate 
for increasing obligations, inci'easing responsibilities, and 
increasing duties. His relations to his neighbors, whether iu 
the interest of commerce and manufactures, or of society, or 
then opening into a political career, wrought from all sides, 
from all portions of society, a consenting confidence in him, 
however differences niiglit give preference for tliis or that 
competitor. I believe that political ()})ponents at no time 
hesitated to feel that Davtd Wtlbek brought into all these 



Life and Character of Dai'id Wilbcr. 25 

emploj-nients, whether public or private, a character and a 
conduct that every one shoukl recognize as an advantage 
and an honor to the communities in which he lived. 

Mr. President, he grew up to the age of seventy to see him- 
self surrounded and the whole State filled up with the largest 
interests of population, of commerce, of manufacture, and 
of political interests of that State and that State's share of 
political interests in this great country. 

It is not easy to speak without great respect of a life that 
has thus been made up from the beginning and is closed with 
no shadow or turning in the traits and conduct which have 
made him useful to his fellow-citizens and always remem- 
bered by those Avho survive him. 

I can hardly say that I had the privilege of any beyond a 
mere personal acquaintance with David Wilber; but 1 had 
long known him and respected him for his situation and 
conduct in life. 

He did not live to take his seat in this Congress, but died 
at home. He was elected in 1<S72 a member of the Forty- 
third Congress and in 1878 of the Forty-sixth Congress and 
then of the Fiftieth Congress. He was expecting and was 
looked for by all who surrounded him to do a useful duty 
during this Congress; but Providence directed otherwise. 
His steps were turned to a greater and higher sphere, and 
he passed out of life in the honorable respect and affection 
of all who kiiew him. 

Mr. President, I offer the following resolutions: 

Resolved. That the Senate receives with deep sensibility the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. David Wilber, late a member of the House 
of Representatives from the State of New York, and tenders to the 
family and relatives of the deceased the assurance of its sympathy in their 
bereavement. 

Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to transmit to the family of 
Mr. Wilber a copy of the foregoing resolution. 



26 Address of Mr. Hiscock^ of New York^ on the 



Address of Mr. Hiscock, of New York. 

Mr. President : I avail myself of this opportunity to 
respectfully pay a tribute to my late colleague in tlie House 
of Representatives from the Twenty-fourth Congressional 
district of New York, Hon. David Wilber. 

Mr. Wilber was born near Quaker street, in the city 
and county of Schenectady, New York, on October 5, 18-.i(». 
In boyhood he removed with his parents to Milford. Otsego 
Count}', N. Y. . where he received a common-school educa- 
tion. 

At the time of his death he was president of the Will)er 
National Bank of Oneonta, N. Y. He was a Representative 
of the State of New York in the Forty-third, Forty-sixth. 
Fiftieth, and was re-elected to, but on account of the illness 
of whicli he died never took his seat in, the Fifty-first 
C<jngress. 

This brief statement is the history of his progress and 
achievements from boyhood to manhood, and will lind a 
parallel in the career of many of those men who have con- 
tributed to the development of New York and maintained 
her political and commercial supremacy. Without the ad- 
vantages of inherited wealth, without the aid of a liberal 
education — much less than that, with a commoii-school edu- 
cation of fifty years ago — Vix. Wilber accumulated a large 
fortune, and by his business methods, marked by ability 
and integrity, so impressed himself upon a constituency 
represented by 36,000 voters that at four general elections 
he was chosen to represent them in the most honorable posi- 
tion within their power of selection. 

I am conversant, sir, somewhat witli the Coniifressional 



Life and Cliaractcr of David Wilbcr. 27 

district that Mr, Wilber so long and so ably represented, 
and I believe it embraces within its Ijoundaries the earlier 
settlements in New York west of Albany, Rich in agri- 
cultural resources, it early invited immigrants from more 
eastern parts of New York and the New England States, 
and Mr, Wilber was compelled to measure mental and 
moral forces in the achievement of his positions with the 
best intellects and the highest culture of his native State, 
and there was hardly a contest between him and others for 
supremacy, A thoroughly honest man, a decidedly able 
man, he gained, and continued to possess until his death, 
the esteem, absolute confidence, and admiration of all who 
knew him. He accumulated wealth, but not at the sacri- 
fice of the respect of his fellow-citizens; and when he was 
selected to high official positions, his political opponents 
conceded his eminent fitness, and that they were worthily 
bestowed by his political party. He was, sir, one of those 
men who, without trickery or manij)ulation, commanded a 
large support from his political opponents. He was not a 
brilliant man, as that expression is applied to orators, and 
he was not a genius, as we often apply the term to those 
who have been eminently successful. His growth was slow 
but constant, and unmarked by disaster to others or l)y 
those questionable methods that are so often in the public 
mind obscured by great results. 

It is just to say that he was not regarded as a great man, 
compared with many who have added to the renown of his 
native State; yet, sir, I can recall very few who accom- 
plished so much as a leader in molding sentiment or voic- 
ing its purposes as David Wilber. And in his generation 
I do not recall one who has contributed more to the mate- 
rial interests of a Congressional district, more largely in- 
fluenced its people, and at the same time maintained, as he 



28 Address oj Mr. Hiscock^ of Neiv York. 

had a right to, tlie couhdence and respect of those whom he 
represented than he. 

Men of his character and achievements, taking into ac- 
count the disadvantageous circumstances with which he 
was surrounded in early youth, are fast joining tlie ma- 
jority on the other side, and I believe, sir, it is more than 
doubtful if others will be found to fill their places. 

The Vice-President. The question is on the adoption of 
the resolutions submitted by the Senator from New York 
[Mr. Evarts]. 

The resolutions were agreed to unanimously. 

Mr. Evarts. I move that the Senate do now adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate adjourned 
until to-morrow, Friday, June 20, 1890, at 12 o'clock m. 



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